Tortuga Island - A Pirate Base

[brian 333]

Three major kingdoms and a variety of smaller nations vie for control of a crosssoads of trade within an archipelago which encompasses an area roughly 800 miles on each side.

Furs and lumber from the northeast, gold and slaves from the southwest, and amber and steel from the northwest are traded for luxury foods, spices, and medicines at hundreds of ports and secret coves around the archipelago.

Among the islands a massive sea turtle the size of a small island moves. It sleeps for decades at a time, only waking if the druids which feed it waken it.

Beneath the loose scales on its back are huge caverns in which rival pirate admirals have their strongholds and treasure troves.

Their various factions, which plunder one another at sea as readily as they do the ships of the warring kingdoms, are compelled by the druids to remain non-violent on the island.

Because the turtle is so huge, and because of the virtual jungle growing on its back, it cannot be recognized as a living creature unless one spends time studying it.

[Erik the Bard]

Spilling blood on the island is blasphemous to the pirates, and the only ones allowed to are the Druids of the Living Island. This cultish circle of druids worship the turtle as a god-beast, and make coastal sacrifices to it on moonless nights. They frequently assume the forms of dire turtles and swim with their master. Any pirate caught disobeying the druids' sacred law is sacrificed to the turtle god.

[smrvl]

I love the scale implied here! When I hear "huge turtle island," I imagine something the size of a tiny desert island, but the idea of caverns below each cave really redefines the scope of the beast. This sounds amazing!